Sermon Title: Assured of Victory In the Power of God
Dearly Beloved,
Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
Every Christian must overflow with the Power of God through the baptism of the Holy Spirit; because only then, are we sealed with the divine mark of God on our lives (Ref: Ephesians 1:13-14) – and be assured that we truly belong to Him and of our Kingdom inheritance, the gift of eternal life through Christ Jesus, our Lord.
In the Acts of the Apostles, each outpouring of the Holy Spirit has led every true disciple of Jesus Christ to begin praying and prophesying in tongues.
Our Lord Jesus spoke clearly to this overt, Spirit-empowered condition of being ‘born-again’: “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of your heart will flow rivers of living water.’ Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, … …” (John 7:38-39)
There is no such thing as a still, quiet river.
A river – by definition – always flows.
Large or little, every river has power.
In every landscape, a river enamours and enlivens; never failing to draw the eye, and bring life to all around.
Even if hidden, a river remains the soul and lifeblood of her environs.
And like rivers, the power of God upon the human being is never still, never subtle, and never concealed – especially to the Christian on whom the Spirit empowers.
A sacred, shared experience with the Apostles
The Christian who is baptized in the Spirit is left without doubt or question about His Power in the human vessel.
The realms of heaven and earth intersects; and the recipient of the Power the Holy Spirit is enculturated into the character of God and the culture of His Kingdom – beginning with the tongue that learns to pray in utter surrender and in the language of the Spirit.
To pray in tongues is the evidence of the Spirit’s Baptism; a reality that is indisputable according to the experiences of the earliest disciples of Christ.
The chief devotion of the true Christian is to keep praying for the promised gift of the Holy Spirit – till the disciples’ experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit, “speaking in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (Acts 2:4) becomes your own.
Doubt, fear, sin and uncertainty has no place in the heart of whom the Spirit prays.
And such are the people – marked with the Names of God (Revelation 14:1, 22:4) - whom Christ will return for, and gather unto Himself; “the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)
And while this is happening, the world is plunged into the Great Tribulation – a time of God’s judgment and wrath poured out on the whole earth. The world is deceived and ruled by the devil; as chaos and unbridled depravity ensues.
In a world devoid of the Holy Spirit and true believers, every human is forced to worship the beast and receive its mark.
Only when Christ ‘touches-down’ on earth will the Great Tribulation come to an end.
The duration between Christ’s appearing in the sky and His touchdown on earth – as with the duration of the Great Tribulation - remains one of God’s mysteries.
The PAOC Statement of Fundamental and Essential Truths 5.8.4a states incontrovertibly:
“The return of Christ to earth in power and great glory will conclude the great tribulation with the victory at Armageddon, the defeat of Antichrist and the binding of Satan.”
After the rapture of true believers unto Christ as He gathers His church “in the air” – the first stage of His return.
The second stage of Christ’s imminent return is when He “comes down to earth in power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30) in full view of the entire world (Ref: Matthew 24:27) and “the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth (His verbal command) and destroy by the splendor of his coming (the weight of His glory)” (2 Thessalonians 2:8: Notes mine) all of satan’s evil minions - the antichrist (the beast), the false prophet, and the demons – along with the defiant kings of the earth and their armies at Armageddon – to which, is believed to be translated: “Mount of Slaughter”.
There’s more.
Upon dispatching the forces of evil, an angel – again, commanded by Christ “with the breath of his mouth”- seized satan, tied up and thrown into the abyss which is locked and sealed for one thousand years. (Ref: Revelation 20:1-3)
Such is the unmatchable Supremacy and Sovereignty of the Son of God.
Victory belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ! (Ref: 1 Corinthians 15:57)
Who’s side are you on?
To ask ourselves this question is not to determine whom we acknowledge as God, but to determine how seriously do we acknowledge, worship and follow our God.
Are you serious about Christ?
Are you serious about being a Christian?
Are you a serious Christian?
What is your reality?
Have you settled for a nice, comfortable life here in this world? Or does your heart truly long for the Kingdom of God?
The world is a slippery slope to the unwary.
To conform to the patterns of the world (Ref: Romans 12:2), or be comfortable with the reality of this world: is to turn away from our Creator, and rapidly regress from human beings created in His image, to human beings taking the form of the god of this age (Ref: 2 Corinthians 4:4) – the devil.
You heard me right.
The moment you cease to be a reflection of God, you are a reflection of satan.
In the time between the first and second stage of Christ’s return, the world runs its course during the Great Tribulation.
Not one human being left on earth would have missed the Rapture.
Not one human being would not have realized that the world is now completely in the hands of the devil.
The silence of the Holy Spirit would have been deafening to the human heart except for the most defiant and most depraved.
Such is how wicked the human heart can be towards God – which is clearly, a reflection of the devil’s heart.
Our Lord Jesus reveals in Luke 17:26-30:
“26 “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man.
27 People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark.
Then the flood came and destroyed them all.
28 “It was the same in the days of Lot.
People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.
29 But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.
30 “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.”
The human race, now living a world devoid of the Holy Spirit and the Church; have become so naturalized to the worship and ways of the devil; that life – as it seems – continues as if nothing has changed.
Even with God absent from their lives, they have managed to find a new normal.
But this new normal will lead them down the path to complete destruction.
Beware of new normals.
Who’s side are you on?
Are you daily by His side?
Are you daily filled with His Holy Spirit; and empowered to live for His glory sake?
Is your heart on His Kingdom? Or are you storing up treasures for yourself on earth?
Preparing for ultimate victory with Christ
The Last Days is fraught with dangers that ensnare or waylay the Christian from following Christ.
Our Shepherd prepares us – for ultimate victory.
Are you prepared to resolutely follow Christ in the Last Days?
Are you willing to be prepared to be victorious and receive your Kingdom inheritance; the gift of eternal life through Christ?
Though we may not know the precise details surrounding the touching down of our Lord Jesus to earth - the Event which will mark the end of the Great Tribulation – our Lord does reveal key circumstances and components of the Last Days that we must prepare for.
Be clothed with the Power of God
Revelation 16:12-16 gives us details of how the course of coming history will run:
“12 Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates and dried up its water to prepare the way[ for the kings from the east.
13 Then I saw three unclean spirits that looked like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
14 For they are the spirits of the demons performing signs who go out to the kings of the earth to bring them together for the battle that will take place on the great day of God, the All-Powerful.
15 Look ! I will come like a thief!
Blessed is the one who stays alert and does not lose his clothes so that he will not have to walk around naked and his shameful condition be seen.
16 Now the spirits gathered the kings and their armies to the place that is called Armageddon in Hebrew.
To “the one who stays alert and does not lose his clothes” alludes to Luke 24:49, where the Lord Jesus instructs His disciples, “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
This is important for us who are living in the Last Days.
The war between the forces of heaven and darkness is inevitable; but the one who remains alert to “not lose his clothes” – to not lose the Power of God upon their lives through the constant baptism of the Holy Spirit - remains blessed in spite of the rise of depravity and defiance against the Lord Jesus Christ in the days leading to His return.
Blessed why?
Revelation 17:12-14 follows through:
“12 The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but will receive ruling authority as kings with the beast for one hour.
13 These kings have a single intent, and they will give their power and authority to the beast.
14 They will make war with the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those accompanying the Lamb are the called, chosen, and faithful.”
Victory belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ!
Our Lord conquers every defiant force on earth simply “because He is Lord of lords and King of kings.”
Wow.
By virtue of His identity, Christ conquers the kings of the earth and their most formidable weapons.
Who’s side are you on?
Are you daily by His side, accompanying the Lamb?
Will you be the “called, chosen and faithful”?
Only if you are clothed with the Power of God, daily surrounded, saturated and overflowing with His Holy Spirit!
Only with the Power of God are we blessed; for only with His Power can we remain alert to NEVER conform to the patterns of the world; to NEVER allow unholiness, much worse, depravity and wickedness, to ever be acceptable to us.
We must love only that which God loves; and hate everything that God hates. (Ref: Deuteronomy 12:31, 16:22, Proverbs 6:16-19)
Then and only then are we worthy to “accompanying the Lamb”; then and only then “are the called, chosen, and faithful.” (Revelation 17:14b)
Revelation 19:11-20 elucidates more on the event where the Son of God Goes to War.
“11 Then I saw heaven opened and here came a white horse!
The one riding it was called “Faithful” and “True,” and with justice he judges and goes to war.
12 His eyes are like a fiery flame and there are many diadem crowns on his head.
He has a name written that no one knows except himself.
13 He is dressed in clothing dipped in blood, and he is called the Word of God.
14 The armies that are in heaven, dressed in white, clean, fine linen, were following him on white horses.
15 From his mouth extends a sharp sword, so that with it he can strike the nations.
He will rule them with an iron rod, and he stomps the winepress of the furious wrath of God, the All-Powerful.
16 He has a name written on his clothing and on his thigh:
“King of kings and Lord of lords.”
17 Then I saw one angel standing in the sun, and he shouted in a loud voice to all the birds flying high in the sky:
“Come, gather around for the great banquet of God,
18 to eat your fill of the flesh of kings, the flesh of generals, the flesh of powerful people, the flesh of horses and those who ride them, and the flesh of all people, both free and slave, and small and great!”
19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to do battle with the one who rode the horse and with his army.
20 Now the beast was seized, and along with him the false prophet who had performed the signs on his behalf]—signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.
Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire burning with sulfur.
21 The others were killed by the sword that extended from the mouth of the one who rode the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves with their flesh.
In the face of the most epic human battle; the supremacy of our Lord Jesus Christ is unquestioned - for an angel calls out to the birds to prepare for a feast on the flesh of those who dare defy the army of the living God.
On the Word of Christ alone (Ref: 2 Thessalonians 2:8, Revelation 19:15), the minions of the devil is defeated, judged and dealt with.
All who defied the Lamb – humans and demons - have been decisively dealt with.
Not a single enemy of God remains.
Victory belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ!
Securing your victory over the chief scheme of the devil
Now, I want to highlight one of the most employed, most insidious and nefarious schemes of the devil.
Notice how those who received the mark of the beast were deceived and forced to worship his image. (Ref: Revelation 13:14-16)
What is this primary scheme of the devil that presents as the single-most deadly threat to the human soul?
Unresolved Guilt.
You see, whether a person is conscious of it or not, unresolved guilt is the single-most deadly threat to the human soul.
It clouds the judgment of the mind, and impedes the human spirit to repent.
It is for freedom from sin, guilt and death that Christ has set us free. (Ref: Galatians 5:1)
Christ is indeed He “who loves us and has set us free from our sins at the cost of his own blood” (Revelation 1:5)
Remember this well.
The devil’s primary weapon is to inundate and overwhelm the human spirit with guilt to make the person believe that he/she is unforgivable and thus, unlovable; that the extent of sin is so great that even God can do nothing about it.
Nothing can be further from the truth.
The Apostle Paul assures us in Romans 8:37-38:
“37 No, in all these things we have complete victory through Him who loved us!
38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
I want you to listen carefully.
The devil’s most employed and most wicked scheme of constantly reminding, and deceiving you into a life chained to the past - filled with guilt and rejection – is also his inescapable weakness.
He knows full well what will eventually happen to him as he defiantly proceeds in the course of death and destruction through his inflictions of unresolved guilt upon humanity.
Revelation 20:1-3 speaks to the beginning of the devil’s end - his inescapable, eternal condemnation:
“Then I saw an angel descending from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the abyss and a huge chain.
2 He seized the dragon—the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan—and tied him up for a thousand years.
3 The angel then threw him into the abyss and locked[and sealed it so that he could not deceive the nations until the one thousand years were finished. (After these things he must be released for a brief period of time.)”
Seized by an angel, Satan is bound – first - for a thousand years.
This is the beginning of the end for the devil.
From the very first time he stole into the Garden of Eden and employed guilt to bring humanity into the bondage of sin and death; and throughout history, relentlessly blinding them to the Truth of God’s Salvation through Christ; trying to usurp not God, but man through this damning scheme of overwhelming every human being with guilt – his bondage of a thousand years mark the beginning of his eventual damnation into the lake of fire along with the beast and the false prophet.
So now we know.
The devil stumbles us by reminding us of our past.
We now know his scheme.
If we were to stumble now, it would be because we were stupid or stuporous; or both.
Always be alert; always be clothed with the Power of God.
So.
What do we do when the devil attempts to guilt us into falling out with Jesus with our past failures, our past transgression, our past sins against the Lord?
Our Lord Jesus has so clearly forgiven us by taking our place on the Cross and resurrecting on the third day - assuring us of His victory, and ours, over sin and death; giving us eternal life in His Perfect and Eternal Kingdom.
And yet, he will still try – for that’s all he’s got… to try, and try again, to waylay us; to ensnare us with unresolved guilt.
What do we do when the devil attempts to stumble us with our past?
Listen up.
When the devil ever reminds you of your past; you remind him of His future.
If you ever feel down, and out, defeated, depressed, rejected and in guilt even after you have repented before Him… SUBMIT YOUR LIFE ONCE AGAIN TO GOD, PICK UP THE BIBLE, and declare out loud these Scriptures that we have just read together – and I assure you, the devil will flee from you.
You would have successfully resisted the devil! (James 4:7)
Shut the devil up about your past… by reminding him of his future.
As long as Christ remains in you; and the power of the Holy Spirit surrounds, saturates and overflows from your life, your victory over sin, death and the devil is guaranteed!
Be serious about remaining in Christ daily.
Be serious about accompanying Christ today, and you will be found accompanying Him on that day of reckoning when He overthrows and destroys all of His enemies -and ours – “with the breath of his mouth” and “by the splendor of His coming”. (2 Thessalonians 2:8)
The Apostle Paul cannot be clearer about our victorious stature and status through Christ Jesus, our Lord and Saviour.
“31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things?
If God is for us, who can be against us?
32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?
It is God who justifies.
34 Who then is the one who condemns?
No one.
Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." (Romans 8:31-35, 37)
Victory belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ!
And if you truly belong to Him, His victory becomes yours.
Live each day surround, saturated and overflowing with the Power of God through being baptized in the Holy Spirit daily; live each day, eternally assured, that in Christ, we have victory over all our enemies!
Through Him who loved us – we are more than conquerors!
Shalom.
Let us pray.
Our Father in Heaven,
Hallowed be Your Name.
Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done; on earth, as it is in heaven.
Lord God Almighty, I surrender my life to You – fill me with Your Holy Spirit.
May Your Power surround, saturate and overflow my life – as You daily baptize me in Your Holy Spirit.
Seal me with Your divine mark in my life through always bearing the fruit of the Spirit and always being ‘on-fire’ and empowered witnesses for Christ through the Power of the Holy Spirit – that I may be assured that I belong to You, and of my Kingdom inheritance; which is, the gift of eternal life through Your Son, and my Saviour – Jesus Christ.
As was the miraculous experiences of Your earliest disciples, may Your Holy Spirit pour out upon my life each day to begin praying and prophesying in tongues as enabled by the Spirit – that out of my heart will indeed freely “flow rivers of living waters.” (John 7:38-39)
Like a river, may I be the soul and lifeblood of the communities around me – for Your Glory sake.
Like a river, may Your Power overflowing in me never be still, subtle, nor concealed – for Your Glory sake.
May my life be an intersection between the realms of heaven and earth – that I would daily be more and more enculturated into Your Love and Kingdom; beginning with my tongue – that in utter surrender to You, I may pray in tongues as You enable me, Holy Spirit.
Take away all doubts, fear, sin and uncertainty in my life regarding Your Holy Baptism – that I may share in the experience and inheritance of Your earliest disciples.
Help me to never conform to the patterns of this world; help me to never ‘naturalise’ to the ways of the devil and wickedness of this world.
May my ‘natural’ be supernatural – by the Power of Your Holy Spirit; may my life be found holy and acceptable in Your Sight.
Help me be truly serious about being Your disciple, Lord Jesus.
May I always be found on Your side, Lord Jesus; accompanying You - remaining in You, as You remain in me. May my heart always be on Your Kingdom; and may it never be content with anything of this world.
Lord Jesus, thank You for delivering me from the evil one; for preparing me to share in Your ultimate victory over death and the devil!
Indeed, Victory belongs to You, Lord Jesus!
Clothed me with Your Power, Holy Spirit – that I will be the “called, chosen and faithful” of Christ Jesus, my Lord and God.
Empower me to love only that which You love; and to hate all that You hate.
That each and every day - with Your Love and Power upon my life – I may confidently secure victory over the devil and his schemes; especially his chief scheme to chain me to my past through unresolved guilt.
Thank You, Lord Jesus, for Your redemption, healing and restoration over my life – for through Your death and resurrection, You have set me free from the bondages of sin and death! (Ref: Galatians 5:1, Revelation 1:5)
I declare – in Jesus’ Name – that I am God’s beloved child; and that I belong solely to Him. I rest in His love, and I live by His Grace – that whenever the devil reminds me of my past, I will pray in the Holy Spirit, read the Holy Scriptures and remind him of his future!
I submit my life entirely to You, O God; and I resist the devil in Your Power – in the knowledge that he will flee from me.
I believe with all my heart that because You remain in me, Your Power surrounds, saturates, and overflows my life – my victory is assured because You are the Victorious God!
Help me be serious about accompanying You daily, Lord Jesus – that I may be found accompanying You on that day of reckoning when You would overthrow and destroy all Your enemies.
Today, Lord God Almighty, seal my heart with Your truth – that through Christ who loved me, I am more than a conqueror, I am Your beloved child.
I thank You and pray all these in the Name of our King, Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Dearly Beloved,
Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
Every Christian must overflow with the Power of God through the baptism of the Holy Spirit; because only then, are we sealed with the divine mark of God on our lives (Ref: Ephesians 1:13-14) – and be assured that we truly belong to Him and of our Kingdom inheritance, the gift of eternal life through Christ Jesus, our Lord.
In the Acts of the Apostles, each outpouring of the Holy Spirit has led every true disciple of Jesus Christ to begin praying and prophesying in tongues.
Our Lord Jesus spoke clearly to this overt, Spirit-empowered condition of being ‘born-again’: “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of your heart will flow rivers of living water.’ Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, … …” (John 7:38-39)
There is no such thing as a still, quiet river.
A river – by definition – always flows.
Large or little, every river has power.
In every landscape, a river enamours and enlivens; never failing to draw the eye, and bring life to all around.
Even if hidden, a river remains the soul and lifeblood of her environs.
And like rivers, the power of God upon the human being is never still, never subtle, and never concealed – especially to the Christian on whom the Spirit empowers.
A sacred, shared experience with the Apostles
The Christian who is baptized in the Spirit is left without doubt or question about His Power in the human vessel.
The realms of heaven and earth intersects; and the recipient of the Power the Holy Spirit is enculturated into the character of God and the culture of His Kingdom – beginning with the tongue that learns to pray in utter surrender and in the language of the Spirit.
To pray in tongues is the evidence of the Spirit’s Baptism; a reality that is indisputable according to the experiences of the earliest disciples of Christ.
The chief devotion of the true Christian is to keep praying for the promised gift of the Holy Spirit – till the disciples’ experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit, “speaking in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (Acts 2:4) becomes your own.
Doubt, fear, sin and uncertainty has no place in the heart of whom the Spirit prays.
And such are the people – marked with the Names of God (Revelation 14:1, 22:4) - whom Christ will return for, and gather unto Himself; “the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)
And while this is happening, the world is plunged into the Great Tribulation – a time of God’s judgment and wrath poured out on the whole earth. The world is deceived and ruled by the devil; as chaos and unbridled depravity ensues.
In a world devoid of the Holy Spirit and true believers, every human is forced to worship the beast and receive its mark.
Only when Christ ‘touches-down’ on earth will the Great Tribulation come to an end.
The duration between Christ’s appearing in the sky and His touchdown on earth – as with the duration of the Great Tribulation - remains one of God’s mysteries.
The PAOC Statement of Fundamental and Essential Truths 5.8.4a states incontrovertibly:
“The return of Christ to earth in power and great glory will conclude the great tribulation with the victory at Armageddon, the defeat of Antichrist and the binding of Satan.”
After the rapture of true believers unto Christ as He gathers His church “in the air” – the first stage of His return.
The second stage of Christ’s imminent return is when He “comes down to earth in power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30) in full view of the entire world (Ref: Matthew 24:27) and “the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth (His verbal command) and destroy by the splendor of his coming (the weight of His glory)” (2 Thessalonians 2:8: Notes mine) all of satan’s evil minions - the antichrist (the beast), the false prophet, and the demons – along with the defiant kings of the earth and their armies at Armageddon – to which, is believed to be translated: “Mount of Slaughter”.
There’s more.
Upon dispatching the forces of evil, an angel – again, commanded by Christ “with the breath of his mouth”- seized satan, tied up and thrown into the abyss which is locked and sealed for one thousand years. (Ref: Revelation 20:1-3)
Such is the unmatchable Supremacy and Sovereignty of the Son of God.
Victory belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ! (Ref: 1 Corinthians 15:57)
Who’s side are you on?
To ask ourselves this question is not to determine whom we acknowledge as God, but to determine how seriously do we acknowledge, worship and follow our God.
Are you serious about Christ?
Are you serious about being a Christian?
Are you a serious Christian?
What is your reality?
Have you settled for a nice, comfortable life here in this world? Or does your heart truly long for the Kingdom of God?
The world is a slippery slope to the unwary.
To conform to the patterns of the world (Ref: Romans 12:2), or be comfortable with the reality of this world: is to turn away from our Creator, and rapidly regress from human beings created in His image, to human beings taking the form of the god of this age (Ref: 2 Corinthians 4:4) – the devil.
You heard me right.
The moment you cease to be a reflection of God, you are a reflection of satan.
In the time between the first and second stage of Christ’s return, the world runs its course during the Great Tribulation.
Not one human being left on earth would have missed the Rapture.
Not one human being would not have realized that the world is now completely in the hands of the devil.
The silence of the Holy Spirit would have been deafening to the human heart except for the most defiant and most depraved.
Such is how wicked the human heart can be towards God – which is clearly, a reflection of the devil’s heart.
Our Lord Jesus reveals in Luke 17:26-30:
“26 “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man.
27 People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark.
Then the flood came and destroyed them all.
28 “It was the same in the days of Lot.
People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.
29 But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.
30 “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.”
The human race, now living a world devoid of the Holy Spirit and the Church; have become so naturalized to the worship and ways of the devil; that life – as it seems – continues as if nothing has changed.
Even with God absent from their lives, they have managed to find a new normal.
But this new normal will lead them down the path to complete destruction.
Beware of new normals.
Who’s side are you on?
Are you daily by His side?
Are you daily filled with His Holy Spirit; and empowered to live for His glory sake?
Is your heart on His Kingdom? Or are you storing up treasures for yourself on earth?
Preparing for ultimate victory with Christ
The Last Days is fraught with dangers that ensnare or waylay the Christian from following Christ.
Our Shepherd prepares us – for ultimate victory.
Are you prepared to resolutely follow Christ in the Last Days?
Are you willing to be prepared to be victorious and receive your Kingdom inheritance; the gift of eternal life through Christ?
Though we may not know the precise details surrounding the touching down of our Lord Jesus to earth - the Event which will mark the end of the Great Tribulation – our Lord does reveal key circumstances and components of the Last Days that we must prepare for.
Be clothed with the Power of God
Revelation 16:12-16 gives us details of how the course of coming history will run:
“12 Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates and dried up its water to prepare the way[ for the kings from the east.
13 Then I saw three unclean spirits that looked like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
14 For they are the spirits of the demons performing signs who go out to the kings of the earth to bring them together for the battle that will take place on the great day of God, the All-Powerful.
15 Look ! I will come like a thief!
Blessed is the one who stays alert and does not lose his clothes so that he will not have to walk around naked and his shameful condition be seen.
16 Now the spirits gathered the kings and their armies to the place that is called Armageddon in Hebrew.
To “the one who stays alert and does not lose his clothes” alludes to Luke 24:49, where the Lord Jesus instructs His disciples, “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
This is important for us who are living in the Last Days.
The war between the forces of heaven and darkness is inevitable; but the one who remains alert to “not lose his clothes” – to not lose the Power of God upon their lives through the constant baptism of the Holy Spirit - remains blessed in spite of the rise of depravity and defiance against the Lord Jesus Christ in the days leading to His return.
Blessed why?
Revelation 17:12-14 follows through:
“12 The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but will receive ruling authority as kings with the beast for one hour.
13 These kings have a single intent, and they will give their power and authority to the beast.
14 They will make war with the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those accompanying the Lamb are the called, chosen, and faithful.”
Victory belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ!
Our Lord conquers every defiant force on earth simply “because He is Lord of lords and King of kings.”
Wow.
By virtue of His identity, Christ conquers the kings of the earth and their most formidable weapons.
Who’s side are you on?
Are you daily by His side, accompanying the Lamb?
Will you be the “called, chosen and faithful”?
Only if you are clothed with the Power of God, daily surrounded, saturated and overflowing with His Holy Spirit!
Only with the Power of God are we blessed; for only with His Power can we remain alert to NEVER conform to the patterns of the world; to NEVER allow unholiness, much worse, depravity and wickedness, to ever be acceptable to us.
We must love only that which God loves; and hate everything that God hates. (Ref: Deuteronomy 12:31, 16:22, Proverbs 6:16-19)
Then and only then are we worthy to “accompanying the Lamb”; then and only then “are the called, chosen, and faithful.” (Revelation 17:14b)
Revelation 19:11-20 elucidates more on the event where the Son of God Goes to War.
“11 Then I saw heaven opened and here came a white horse!
The one riding it was called “Faithful” and “True,” and with justice he judges and goes to war.
12 His eyes are like a fiery flame and there are many diadem crowns on his head.
He has a name written that no one knows except himself.
13 He is dressed in clothing dipped in blood, and he is called the Word of God.
14 The armies that are in heaven, dressed in white, clean, fine linen, were following him on white horses.
15 From his mouth extends a sharp sword, so that with it he can strike the nations.
He will rule them with an iron rod, and he stomps the winepress of the furious wrath of God, the All-Powerful.
16 He has a name written on his clothing and on his thigh:
“King of kings and Lord of lords.”
17 Then I saw one angel standing in the sun, and he shouted in a loud voice to all the birds flying high in the sky:
“Come, gather around for the great banquet of God,
18 to eat your fill of the flesh of kings, the flesh of generals, the flesh of powerful people, the flesh of horses and those who ride them, and the flesh of all people, both free and slave, and small and great!”
19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to do battle with the one who rode the horse and with his army.
20 Now the beast was seized, and along with him the false prophet who had performed the signs on his behalf]—signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.
Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire burning with sulfur.
21 The others were killed by the sword that extended from the mouth of the one who rode the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves with their flesh.
In the face of the most epic human battle; the supremacy of our Lord Jesus Christ is unquestioned - for an angel calls out to the birds to prepare for a feast on the flesh of those who dare defy the army of the living God.
On the Word of Christ alone (Ref: 2 Thessalonians 2:8, Revelation 19:15), the minions of the devil is defeated, judged and dealt with.
All who defied the Lamb – humans and demons - have been decisively dealt with.
Not a single enemy of God remains.
Victory belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ!
Securing your victory over the chief scheme of the devil
Now, I want to highlight one of the most employed, most insidious and nefarious schemes of the devil.
Notice how those who received the mark of the beast were deceived and forced to worship his image. (Ref: Revelation 13:14-16)
What is this primary scheme of the devil that presents as the single-most deadly threat to the human soul?
Unresolved Guilt.
You see, whether a person is conscious of it or not, unresolved guilt is the single-most deadly threat to the human soul.
It clouds the judgment of the mind, and impedes the human spirit to repent.
It is for freedom from sin, guilt and death that Christ has set us free. (Ref: Galatians 5:1)
Christ is indeed He “who loves us and has set us free from our sins at the cost of his own blood” (Revelation 1:5)
Remember this well.
The devil’s primary weapon is to inundate and overwhelm the human spirit with guilt to make the person believe that he/she is unforgivable and thus, unlovable; that the extent of sin is so great that even God can do nothing about it.
Nothing can be further from the truth.
The Apostle Paul assures us in Romans 8:37-38:
“37 No, in all these things we have complete victory through Him who loved us!
38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
I want you to listen carefully.
The devil’s most employed and most wicked scheme of constantly reminding, and deceiving you into a life chained to the past - filled with guilt and rejection – is also his inescapable weakness.
He knows full well what will eventually happen to him as he defiantly proceeds in the course of death and destruction through his inflictions of unresolved guilt upon humanity.
Revelation 20:1-3 speaks to the beginning of the devil’s end - his inescapable, eternal condemnation:
“Then I saw an angel descending from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the abyss and a huge chain.
2 He seized the dragon—the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan—and tied him up for a thousand years.
3 The angel then threw him into the abyss and locked[and sealed it so that he could not deceive the nations until the one thousand years were finished. (After these things he must be released for a brief period of time.)”
Seized by an angel, Satan is bound – first - for a thousand years.
This is the beginning of the end for the devil.
From the very first time he stole into the Garden of Eden and employed guilt to bring humanity into the bondage of sin and death; and throughout history, relentlessly blinding them to the Truth of God’s Salvation through Christ; trying to usurp not God, but man through this damning scheme of overwhelming every human being with guilt – his bondage of a thousand years mark the beginning of his eventual damnation into the lake of fire along with the beast and the false prophet.
So now we know.
The devil stumbles us by reminding us of our past.
We now know his scheme.
If we were to stumble now, it would be because we were stupid or stuporous; or both.
Always be alert; always be clothed with the Power of God.
So.
What do we do when the devil attempts to guilt us into falling out with Jesus with our past failures, our past transgression, our past sins against the Lord?
Our Lord Jesus has so clearly forgiven us by taking our place on the Cross and resurrecting on the third day - assuring us of His victory, and ours, over sin and death; giving us eternal life in His Perfect and Eternal Kingdom.
And yet, he will still try – for that’s all he’s got… to try, and try again, to waylay us; to ensnare us with unresolved guilt.
What do we do when the devil attempts to stumble us with our past?
Listen up.
When the devil ever reminds you of your past; you remind him of His future.
If you ever feel down, and out, defeated, depressed, rejected and in guilt even after you have repented before Him… SUBMIT YOUR LIFE ONCE AGAIN TO GOD, PICK UP THE BIBLE, and declare out loud these Scriptures that we have just read together – and I assure you, the devil will flee from you.
You would have successfully resisted the devil! (James 4:7)
Shut the devil up about your past… by reminding him of his future.
As long as Christ remains in you; and the power of the Holy Spirit surrounds, saturates and overflows from your life, your victory over sin, death and the devil is guaranteed!
Be serious about remaining in Christ daily.
Be serious about accompanying Christ today, and you will be found accompanying Him on that day of reckoning when He overthrows and destroys all of His enemies -and ours – “with the breath of his mouth” and “by the splendor of His coming”. (2 Thessalonians 2:8)
The Apostle Paul cannot be clearer about our victorious stature and status through Christ Jesus, our Lord and Saviour.
“31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things?
If God is for us, who can be against us?
32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?
It is God who justifies.
34 Who then is the one who condemns?
No one.
Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." (Romans 8:31-35, 37)
Victory belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ!
And if you truly belong to Him, His victory becomes yours.
Live each day surround, saturated and overflowing with the Power of God through being baptized in the Holy Spirit daily; live each day, eternally assured, that in Christ, we have victory over all our enemies!
Through Him who loved us – we are more than conquerors!
Shalom.
Let us pray.
Our Father in Heaven,
Hallowed be Your Name.
Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done; on earth, as it is in heaven.
Lord God Almighty, I surrender my life to You – fill me with Your Holy Spirit.
May Your Power surround, saturate and overflow my life – as You daily baptize me in Your Holy Spirit.
Seal me with Your divine mark in my life through always bearing the fruit of the Spirit and always being ‘on-fire’ and empowered witnesses for Christ through the Power of the Holy Spirit – that I may be assured that I belong to You, and of my Kingdom inheritance; which is, the gift of eternal life through Your Son, and my Saviour – Jesus Christ.
As was the miraculous experiences of Your earliest disciples, may Your Holy Spirit pour out upon my life each day to begin praying and prophesying in tongues as enabled by the Spirit – that out of my heart will indeed freely “flow rivers of living waters.” (John 7:38-39)
Like a river, may I be the soul and lifeblood of the communities around me – for Your Glory sake.
Like a river, may Your Power overflowing in me never be still, subtle, nor concealed – for Your Glory sake.
May my life be an intersection between the realms of heaven and earth – that I would daily be more and more enculturated into Your Love and Kingdom; beginning with my tongue – that in utter surrender to You, I may pray in tongues as You enable me, Holy Spirit.
Take away all doubts, fear, sin and uncertainty in my life regarding Your Holy Baptism – that I may share in the experience and inheritance of Your earliest disciples.
Help me to never conform to the patterns of this world; help me to never ‘naturalise’ to the ways of the devil and wickedness of this world.
May my ‘natural’ be supernatural – by the Power of Your Holy Spirit; may my life be found holy and acceptable in Your Sight.
Help me be truly serious about being Your disciple, Lord Jesus.
May I always be found on Your side, Lord Jesus; accompanying You - remaining in You, as You remain in me. May my heart always be on Your Kingdom; and may it never be content with anything of this world.
Lord Jesus, thank You for delivering me from the evil one; for preparing me to share in Your ultimate victory over death and the devil!
Indeed, Victory belongs to You, Lord Jesus!
Clothed me with Your Power, Holy Spirit – that I will be the “called, chosen and faithful” of Christ Jesus, my Lord and God.
Empower me to love only that which You love; and to hate all that You hate.
That each and every day - with Your Love and Power upon my life – I may confidently secure victory over the devil and his schemes; especially his chief scheme to chain me to my past through unresolved guilt.
Thank You, Lord Jesus, for Your redemption, healing and restoration over my life – for through Your death and resurrection, You have set me free from the bondages of sin and death! (Ref: Galatians 5:1, Revelation 1:5)
I declare – in Jesus’ Name – that I am God’s beloved child; and that I belong solely to Him. I rest in His love, and I live by His Grace – that whenever the devil reminds me of my past, I will pray in the Holy Spirit, read the Holy Scriptures and remind him of his future!
I submit my life entirely to You, O God; and I resist the devil in Your Power – in the knowledge that he will flee from me.
I believe with all my heart that because You remain in me, Your Power surrounds, saturates, and overflows my life – my victory is assured because You are the Victorious God!
Help me be serious about accompanying You daily, Lord Jesus – that I may be found accompanying You on that day of reckoning when You would overthrow and destroy all Your enemies.
Today, Lord God Almighty, seal my heart with Your truth – that through Christ who loved me, I am more than a conqueror, I am Your beloved child.
I thank You and pray all these in the Name of our King, Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.